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Joint Munitions Command
TOW missiles — tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided — entered the Army inventory in the 1970s and are still used by many units.
But when a TOW reaches the end of its shelf life, it has only one place to go.
The Anniston Defense Munitions Center (ADMC) on Anniston Army Depot, Ala., operates the Missile Recycling Center (MRC), where TOWs are demilitarized and disassembled for recycling or disposal of components.
The facility is the first of its kind in the nation, according to Reginald Smith, munitions operator supervisor.
"Traditional disposal methods pose additional environmental risks and recoverable assets are completely lost in open burn-open detonation disposal," Smith said. "That is why the MRC was established."
Open burn and open detonation were the methods previously used to dispose of the materials in these missiles.
"It is a first-of-its-kind process," said Smith, MRC "views the aging missile stockpile as a valuable asset. Missile recycling reduces the cost associated with environmental cleanup and recovers, to the maximum extent possible, components that can be used in production of new missiles and to generate spare parts for sustaining the missile system late in its shelf life."
Designed by a team consisting of the Aviation and Missile Command, the Defense Ammunition Center, ADMC and the depot, MRC is run by the U.S. Army in partnership with AMTEC Corporation, whose headquarters is located in Huntsville, Ala.
The missiles sent to MRC have outlived their shelf lives or contain technology no longer relevant on the battlefield.
"When the missiles exceed their shelf life, they become part of an obsolete inventory that is accompanied by both costs and risks," said Smith. "Aging missiles take up valuable space that is needed to store newer inventory and pre-positioned war reserves."
The recycling process starts with removal of the missile from its fiberglass launch tube. From there, all components are rendered down. These components include warheads, coupling assemblies, batteries, flight motors, propellants, explosives, copper lining and copper wiring.
Some parts, such as copper lining, are recycled, and others, such as fiberglass launch tubes, are sold to the manufacturer for the production of new missiles, resulting in a substantial cost reduction.
MRC has recycled 36,925 TOW missiles so far.
The center represents the first phase of a more comprehensive missile recycling program. Phase two, the Slurry Explosive Module, will use propellants retrieved from the missiles to make commercial mining explosives. The module should begin operations in early fiscal 2007. The third phase, the Energetics Processing Module, due to begin in late 2007, will break down high explosives into the original missile explosives products.
Furthermore, MRC has been recognized for its environmental stewardship. After only one year of operation, MRC received the Alabama Department of Environmental Management Pollution Prevention Award.
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